Just as brigantines form a sort of connecting link between brigs and two-masted schooners so barkentines and barks are connecting links between three-masted schooners and real ships. The barkentine has the forward mast square-rigged with the main and mizzen masts fore-and-aft rigged, while the bark has the fore and mainmast square-rigged and only the mizzen fore-and-aft rigged. Finally there is the true ship or “full rigged ship,” as it is often called, in which all three masts are square-rigged with a small fore-and-aft spanker on the last, or mizzen, mast.
In former years barks and ships never had more than three masts, but with the advent of steel hulls, and donkey engines to hoist and trim sails, four-, five- and even six-masted barks and ships came into use. It is sometimes difficult to tell whether these vessels are barks or ships, but if there is more than one mast fore-and-aft rigged they are properly barkentines, if only one mast is without square sails the vessel is a bark and if square sails are on all masts it is a ship;—regardless of how many masts there are. Just as fore-and-aft rigged vessels carry light sails to supplement the ordinary working sails, so square-rigged vessels often spread additional canvas when the winds are light or when greater speed is desired. Between the various masts staysails, shaped like jibs, are extended, while at times small sails known as studding sails or stunsails are set at the outer ends of the square sails. These light sails take the names of the masts or yards from which they are set and thus there are main and mizzen topmast and topgallant staysails; fore, main and mizzen topgallant and royal studding sails, etc.
These great steel and iron square-riggers often have each of their masts in one piece or polemasts, but the older and typical square-rigged vessels had their masts made up of several pieces, each of which carried a sail, and the names of each section corresponded to the sail which it carried. Thus the lowest section was the mast proper, the piece above was the topmast, the next was the topgallant mast, the next the royal mast and the slenderest, uppermost part was the skysail pole.
Each of these masts had its own stays and shrouds and between the masts triangular, jib-like sails known as staysails were set. These were named after the masts to which the upper ends were attached and thus the staysail which extended downward from the top of the topgallant mast was a topgallant staysail, etc.
Hull, Spars and Rigging of a Ship
1—Jib boom. 2—Bowsprit. 3—Dolphin-striker or martingale. 4—Cathead. 5—Capstan. 6—Cable. 7—Stem or Cutwater. 8—Hawse-pipe or hawse-hole. 9—Starboard bow. 10—Starboard beam. 11—Water line. 12—Starboard quarter. 13—Rudder. 14—Rudder post. 15—Counter. 16—Deck house or cuddy. 17—Fore royalmast. 18—Main royalmast. 19—Mizzen royalmast. 20—Fore royalyard. 21—Main royalyard. 22—Mizzen royalyard. 23—Fore topgallantmast. 24—Main topgallantmast. 25—Mizzen topgallantmast. 26—Fore topgallantyard. 27—Main topgallantyard. 28—Mizzen topgallantyard. 29—Fore topmast. 30—Main topmast. 31—Mizzen topmast. 32—Fore topsailyard. 33—Main topsailyard. 34—Mizzen topsailyard. 35—Foretop. 36—Maintop. 37—Mizzentop. 38—Foreyard. 39—Mainyard. 40—Mizzen, or Cross-jack, yard. 41—Foremast. 42—Mainmast. 43—Mizzenmast. 44—Foregaff, or fore-spencer-gaff. 45—Trysail-gaff, or Main-spencer-gaff. 46—Spanker-gaff. 47—Spanker-boom. 48—Bulwark, or rail. 49—Starboard ports. 50—Starboard scupper-holes. 51—Starboard chain-plates.
A, A, A—Fore, main and mizzen royal-stays. B—Flying-jib-stay. C, C, C—Fore, main and mizzen topgallant-stays. D—Jib-stay. E, E, E—Fore, main and mizzen topmast-stays. F, F, F—Fore, main and mizzen-stays. G, G—Fore and main-tacks. H, H, H—Fore, main and mizzen royal-lifts. I, I, I—Fore, main and mizzen topgallant-lifts. J, J, J—Fore, main and mizzen topsail-lifts. K, K, K—Fore, main and mizzen, or cross-jack, lifts. L, L, L—Fore, main and mizzen royal-braces. M, M, M—Fore, main and mizzen topgallant-braces. N, N, N—Fore, main and mizzen topsail-braces. O, O, O—Fore, main and mizzen, or cross-jack, braces. P, P, P—Fore, main and mizzen starboard shrouds. Q, Q, Q—Fore, main and mizzen backstays. R, R, R—Peak halyards. S, S, S—Trysail and spanker vangs. T, T—Fore and main sheets. U—Spanker topping-lift. V—Spanker sheet. W—Flying martingale. W′—Martingale stay. X—Bobstays. Y—Chafing gear.
Note—Modern vessels carry double-topsails and often double topgallantsails also, in which case the words “upper” or “lower” are prefixed to the sails, spars and rigging of these sails. Skysails also are carried at times. These are small sails set on the skysail poles above the royal masts and their rigging takes the prefix “skysail.” Spencers and trysails are often omitted and are obsolete, as are studding sails.
It will thus be seen that in order to know the names of all the sails on a square-rigged vessel it is only necessary to learn the names of the five parts of each mast, for every sail has the same name with the addition of fore, main, or mizzen as the case may be. The same is true of the yards, the stays, the halyards and every other part of a ship’s rigging and so the seemingly complicated maze becomes very simple, for all you have to do is to learn the names of the various parts on one mast and prefix fore, main or mizzen to them for those on the other masts.